India: Clean Air / Pollution

India generates an estimated 25,000 to 30,000 tonnes of plastic waste every day, of which a substantial share, approximately 10,556 tonnes daily, remains uncollected and enters landfills or the open environment. To address this, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (“MoEFCC”) has notified a national Extended Producer Responsibility (“EPR”) framework for plastic packaging under the Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016, as amended from time to time.

The Central Pollution Control Board (“CPCB”) has issued guidelines under the Battery Waste Management Rules, 2022 (“BWM Rules”) governing the collection, handling, storage and transportation of waste batteries across the country. The guidelines anchor compliance to the hazardous waste regime, prescribe chemistry-specific storage and transport protocols, and restrict who may operate collection centres, thereby seeking to prevent mishandling and illegal operations in the handling of waste batteries.

In Vanashakti v Union of India, 2026 INSC 761 a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court pursuant to review proceedings settled the long-contested issue of ex post facto Environmental Clearance (EC) granted under the Environment Impact Assessment Notification, 2006 (EIA Notification, 2006). The Court held that the prior EC regime is mandatory in nature and upheld the validity of the 2017 Notification issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) as a time bound amnesty scheme, and struck down the 2021 Office Memorandum (2021 OM) as an impermissible administrative action with prospective effect. The Court passed a common judgment and order in a group of petitions.

The Division Bench comprising Justice Attau Rahman Masoodi and Justice Subhash Vidyarthi of the Allahabad High Court ("HC"), in its judgment dated 17.07.2025...

The India–UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement ("CETA"), signed on July 24, 2025, reflects a notable shift in India's treaty architecture by embedding sustainability objectives as a central component of its trade engagement.

Digging deep into documents is not just another task in a regulatory assessment – it is often the key to spotting hidden compliance gaps and avoiding risks that could slip through the cracks.

One of the gravest environmental issues of our time is air pollution. It has an annual toll on millions of lives across the world.

The case of Fatima vs Union of India raised significant environmental concerns surrounding the issuance of ex post facto environmental clearances.

On November 12, 2024, the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change published a significant notification in the Gazette of India...